Robotics Technology as Business Enabler: The Facebook Case

SalientsRumor Has It – While the acquisition rumor has generated much noise in the media and elsewhere, there has been no official confirmation from either Facebook or Titan Aerospace.Links to the Internet.org Initiative – In August 2013, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Internet.org, an initiative with six mobile phone companies that aims to bring the Internet to the 5 billion yet-to-be-connected. Titan Aerospace clearly lists “voice & data transmission” as a key application for its Solara platform, a UAS described by the company as an “Atmospheric Satellite” or Atmostats.ARIS AnalysisDisrupting the Disrupters – In October 2013 analysis of Titan Aerospace, Myria Chief Research Officer Dan Kara described Titan Aerospace as “Disrupting the Disrupters”. One of the most remarkable features of the solar powered Titan drones was their ability to fly at a constant altitude and position for about five years. The Atmostats, in effect, could operate as low altitude geostationary satellites, but at a fraction of the cost traditional satellite systems.A Telco Link, Not Yet a Backbone – The use of “Atmosats” could very well be effective way to replace traditional telecommunication relay antennas, as well as provide network access in areas where the deployment of traditional antennas is too difficult due to geography (high mountains, oceans and seas, etc.). It is also likely that the Titan systems will be much easier to deploy compared to typical antenna technology. Initially, Atmostats would only act as relays, not as backbones. The use of Atmosats is likely to still remain in the hands of Tier 1 backbones providers.Ensuring Access – Access to the Internet is a sine qua non for online ventures, as well as those companies utilizing the Internet to access new markets and develop new lines of business. This makes these businesses susceptible to the whims of governments (political bans), local ISPs and others that can limit or halt Internet access. Titan Aerospace’s Atmostats and similar technologies reduces the risk of interrupted Internet access. At the very least, extended Internet coverage, at least for the mobile Internet, provides a strategic advantage for businesses and has the potential to lead to additional revenues.More Than Philanthropy – Recent net neutrality court rulings in the United States that favor Internet providers over content providers have set off a chain of events that would have content providers like Netflix, who take up large amount of bandwidth, paying increased fees to Internet providers to ensure premium transmission rates for their service over the lines. This sets up a situation that could hamstring Internet TV and other bandwidth intensive applications, or at the very least lower their profit margins.Currently, there are few high speed alternatives to the cable companies for connecting to the Internet and streaming content. There have been only a few forays for developing alternative high speed networks (Google Fiber, for example), largely because the infrastructure investment is so high. A scenario similar to the imagined Facebook/Titan solution would eliminate many of the difficulties associated with developing ground based network systems. It would also provide an alternative “pipe” for content providers facing premium line usage fees.(arisplex.com)ANN.Az